A Cruel Twist of Fate
by Dark Akuma Hunter
Summary: Yuri's cousin get's sucked through to Shin Makoku. Will she make the same mistakes he did? Why is she there? With no knowledge, a harsh temper and sometimes uncontrollable wind magic how is she going to cope?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to my new story. I shall warn you now, I only have two chapters for this at the moment and I have no idea where I'm going with the plot so... Feedback and ideas would be greatly appreciated :)**

**A Cruel Twist of Fate:**

**Chapter 1: Expect the unexpected**

Amelia Nightray stood precariously at the edge of the swimming pool, looking out over the water. She had been sent inside to fetch her younger brother, but she couldn't seem to find him anywhere. The air was humid and she was getting antsy, as she had other places to be and important things she needed to be doing for school. Her long black hair hung around her face as she scanned the heads that were sticking up out of the water, hoping to finally locate Daniel.

A familiar face popped into her line of vision and she sighed in relief, waving at him in order to catch his attention. He blinked in confusion, but then his head spun to face the big clock on the wall and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw what time it was. Amelia nodded at him, and was about to step away from the edge when a hand grabbed her ankle.

She cried out in alarm, but when she tried to pull free she overbalanced and fell into the pool. She could hear laughter through the water as she tried to get back to the surface, but for some reason the surface kept getting further and further away. She reached up with both arms, trying to grab at the air she knew was just out of her reach, but she continued to sink.

* * *

A bright light shone in her eyes and, as her lungs protested the lack of oxygen, she sat up.  
Her head easily broke the surface of the water and she doubled over, coughing and taking shallow breaths as she tried to calm down. When Amelia's breathing evened out she sat up straighter and took a look around herself. It was brighter and quieter than it had been at the pool, so she knew that something must have changed, although she had no idea as to how or why.

"How on earth did I get outside?" She muttered to herself as she climbed to her feet in the knee high water of the massive outdoor fountain she had found herself in. She stood there for a few minutes as she looked around, momentarily forgetting that she was even standing in water. When she came back to her senses she cried out in irritation and quickly waded over to the edge of the fountain before climbing out.

She sat on the stone rim of the fountain and took off her knee high combat boots, tipping them upside down in an attempt to get rid of some of the water. Realizing that it wasn't doing much to help she placed them upside down on the pebbled pathway, ignoring them for the time being. Green eyes blazing in annoyance she reached behind her head, grabbing her waist length black hair and pulling it over her shoulder. While muttering curses to herself she began to squeeze the water from her hair, a painstakingly long task with hair as long as hers.

"This really isn't my day." She commented drily as she gave up on getting the water out of her hair. Putting her boots back on she stood up on the path and took a look around her, checking through the trees for people, anyone who might be watching. When she was satisfied that no-one was around she closed her eyes and started moving her hand around in front of her, concentrating.

Where before there hadn't even been a hint of wind there was now a circulating current of air swirling around Amelia. When she was satisfied with the strength of the wind she opened her eyes and proceeded to use the wind to dry her clothes and hair. While she was preoccupied a man with brown hair walked past the garden, choosing to glance out towards the fountain as he went. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he saw the young girl surrounded by her own personal whirlwind, and he stepped onto the pebbled path as he headed towards her.

Amelia heard a crunch of pebbles and cursed, letting go of the wind she had created, only just happy with how dry her clothes had managed to get. Her hair was still pretty damp, but at least it wasn't soaked anymore. She ran her fingers through her hair as she looked around herself, trying to find out where the person was.

She jumped in surprise as a voice sounded from behind her. Her hair stung her face as she spun around to face the tall man with brown hair. He appeared to be wearing some sort of uniform, although it was unlike any she had seen before. It had a military feel to it, but even the uniforms she had seen during history class hadn't quite seemed so intimidating and yet so much like normal clothes at the same time. There was something seriously off about the situation. Not only the man, but her magic. It had never been that easy to use her magic before, it had always felt as though there was something restricting it, limiting it, fighting against its use, but this time there had been no resistance. She hugged her waist as she thought, a habit which developed out of nowhere and refused to go away. When she snapped out of her wonderings she realized that the man had been talking to her.

"I'm sorry; I don't really understand what you're saying. I can only speak English and Japanese." The look of surprise that appeared on the man's face at her statement was definitely out of place, at least in her mind. Should a man of the military really have such an easy to read face? Before she knew what was happening the man started to laugh. She was seriously starting to doubt that it was actually a military uniform he was wearing, his personality didn't seem to suit wartime fighting.

"Japanese huh? It's been a while since I've needed to speak in this language, so sorry if I sound a little off. Might I ask what it is you're doing here?" The teenage girl was shocked by his ability to just pick and choose languages as he pleased, or at least that's what it seemed like to her.

"Umm…" Her green eyes swept the area once more, this time trying to find something, anything at all that might seem familiar and give her a clue as to where she was. "I'm not really sure… I mean… Look, this is going to sound really crazy, but I want you to hear me out."

"You may find that you're definition of crazy differs from my own, so please, go ahead." He was acting so cheerful and understanding that it was actually putting Amelia on edge. She kept telling herself that it was all an act, that there was no way he would be that polite to someone who seemed to have broken into… wherever it was that they were.

"Okay then." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I was at the swimming pool looking for my little brother. It was getting late so mum had sent me to pick him up. Someone grabbed my ankle, probably some juvenile delinquent who thought it would be funny if I got wet. I fell in the pool and after that… well… I ended up here. Where exactly is here anyway?"

"This is indeed strange." He concurred, ignoring her question and focusing solely on the explanation. She scrutinized his expression, trying to see through what she was certain was an arrogant mask. He was too accepting, to carefree about what she had just told him. Maybe he was a professional after all, although she couldn't imagine why anyone would want to flash their military uniform in this day and age. It was the 21st century after all.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question." She protested irritably, suppressing a bout of shivers that arose from her still damp hair and her cold clothes. "Because this ain't the pool and this sure as hell ain't Dunedin." There were goosebumps all over the exposed skin of her arms and she was freezing. It was summer where she had been minutes before, and though it wasn't hot like Hawaii it was at least warm enough to warrant a t-shirt and shorts. The air by the fountain was cooler, not cold exactly, but enough that she was likely to get sick if she stayed in her current attire much longer.

"I have no idea where this Dunedin you speak of is, but we can talk about that sort of thing later. Right now I think there are more important things to deal with." He gestured at her outfit, water still dripping from the hem of her white shirt every now and again. She sneezed before nodding, crossing her arms across her chest in an attempt to warm up her fingers.

"Uh… My name's Amelia. Just thought you should know." Introducing herself to strangers wasn't something she normally did, but she had a feeling that she was going to have to trust at least the man before her. Otherwise she wasn't sure how she was going to get by in this strange place.

"Ah, my name is Conrart. I probably should have introduced myself earlier." She tilted her head to one side, staring at the man.

"What?"

"Right, this has been a problem before too… It's fine if you call me Conrad, since that's probably easier for you to pronounce."

"Oh, okay then." With the introductions done she let the man – Conrad – guide her towards the building that she never noticed. He walked close to her but never touched her, like a possessive shadow. Apparently he didn't think even for a second that she would bother running away. Even if she did it would be easy enough to get her back.

What Amelia had originally thought of as an abandoned place was actually bustling with activity. Men in guards uniforms passed by them in every direction and she had to wonder why there were so many. They even passed a young blond boy who appeared to be about her age in a blue variation of Conrad's uniform. As far as she could tell the boy didn't even spare them a glance. Were strangers not a big deal?

She sneezed again as Conrad hailed a passing maid. _Wait, maid? What kind of weird place is this anyway? The only place I'd expect to see maids is in a maid café…_ He spoke to her in the language Amelia couldn't understand before turning back to face her.

"This is Doria." He informed her, gesturing at the maid dressed in blue. "She's going to find you some clothes to change into, so go with her for the time being." Before she had a chance to protest or question him he was gone down the corridor and she stared blankly at his retreating figure. The maid tugged on her arm and she reluctantly followed the older woman, quickly getting irritated by the wet squelching noises her boots were making now that she didn't have anyone to talk to for a distraction. Still, she didn't really want to get rid of them since she was afraid someone might steal them. There was no way for her to know what sorts of people were residing in such a place.

It didn't take much concentration to follow after Doria, so as they walked Amelia scrutinized the hallways. There were torch brackets and lanterns on the walls. That fact only continued to confuse her. Was it possible that she had ended up in some medieval re-enactment society? Although for that to have happened she would have had to be unconscious for a long time for it to only feel like minutes since she fell in the pool.

"Where are we going?" She asked, forgetting that the maid obviously couldn't speak or understand English. Drawing her eyes back down to the ground she noticed Doria was standing in front of an open door, gesturing at her. There were going to be some severe communication issues if she were to stay there.

Rolling her eyes she wandered into the room. The maid followed and shut the door behind her. Amelia couldn't help but feel slightly trapped, but the woman merely handed her a towel before turning to rummage around in the chest set against the opposite wall. She shrugged and began drying her long black hair.

The clothes the maid gave to her were definitely out of her comfort zone, although there was no real way for her to complain or request anything else. In the end she could only be thankful that it wasn't a maid uniform.

It was unnerving for her to change in front of the other woman, but to her embarrassment she ended up needing help changing anyway. The dress was apparently worn by someone with a slightly smaller bust than Amelia, so it was a bit of a squeeze. Once she was finally dressed it didn't seem so bad, although she really despised wearing dresses. It was a dark red fabric which covered a lot more skin than some of the other dresses she had glimpsed in the chest, and for that she was thankful. Then again, by her calculations the owner of the black dresses must be incredibly well endowed, they would never have fit her in the first place.

Exhausted she sat on the floor in the centre of the room, probably getting dust on her dress. She didn't care though. She shivered violently before sneezing. It was only a matter of time before she got really sick. Ever since she fell in the pool she'd been feeling a bit off. She sneezed again, and suddenly everything started going blurry. Her vision was fading in and out and as she sneezed again it disappeared entirely. She let out a small groan before she fell sideways onto the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Doria watched in alarm as the young lady she had been charged with suddenly keeled over. She was obviously still breathing, but it couldn't have been a good sign. Worried, she rushed from the room, hoping to find Conrart but anyone strong enough to lift her would do just as well.

In the end it was Gwendal that she came across first, so she bravely attempted to enlist his help. He certainly had no desire to help, he still had to check up on the Maoh to ensure he was doing all the paperwork he had left him, but he was also ever so slightly curious about the mysterious stranger that had collapsed in the castle. In the end he refused, but he grabbed a passing guard and told him to go with the maid instead.

The two servants quickly moved the girl to the infirmary, since not only had she passed out, but when the guard went to move her he noticed that she had a very high fever as well.

* * *

**A/n: So there you have it, the first chapter. The second shouldn't be too far away, I'm almost finished with it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The cogs start turning**

Amelia stood at the edge of a grassy field, watching a memory she didn't even remember having. She knew all three of the men; her father, her uncle Shoma and her father's friend Bob, only she was certain that she hadn't met Bob until she was ten. The girl standing with them was only about six, the other two children she was uncertain of. It took her a while to put a name to either of the other children, but eventually she remembered. They were her cousins; the older one was Shori, and the younger one was Yuri.

"_Oji-san, why are we out here? What about Oba-san and mum?" Her uncle laughed and ruffled her hair, causing her to pout at him with big green eyes._

"_Careful Takashi, being fluent in two languages is a nice thing, but don't you think you're confusing her a little?" Shoma asked her father. He shook his head, smiling in amusement._

"_She isn't as naïve as you think she is. She's calling you Oji-san because you're her Japanese uncle. Don't you think that's actually rather clever?" Amelia smiled at her father, knowing that he was praising her, before she turned her attention to Shori and Yuri. Mercifully the younger brother hadn't been forced to dress like a girl that day, probably because Jennifer was too busy to ensure it happened._

"_Back to the business at hand then." Bob coaxed, drawing the men's attention away from their children._

"_Oh, yes, sorry about that Bob. Since we're all here I thought I would do a sort of status report. Daniel is still only three so he's with Lillian at the moment, but he seems perfectly normal and stable." Her father threw a quick glance at the children to make sure they weren't paying too much attention. "Amelia on the other hand, has been showing random outbursts of power. I have no idea what sparked it, but every now and again there are odd incidents that occur around her, whether it be at school or at home. From the looks of things she has wind or air magic."_

"_I see, that could end up being problematic. You yourself have no such powers, but do you think it would be possible to attempt to train her, at least in self-control?"_

Revisiting this memory at almost eighteen years old she had to wonder why she had forgotten it. She easily remembered that it wasn't long before her 8th birthday that her father attempted to teach her about magic, although he really wasn't cut out for teaching.

"_It wouldn't hurt to try but… I'm worried about what I'm going to do if she ever asks me why she has that power. What am I supposed to say? Do I tell her the truth? Do I tell her about the Mazoku? Or do I just lie to her and tell her that she's special?"_

She frowned. That was something she'd never heard about. Then again she never once questioned her abilities, she just accepted that they were a part of who she was and moved on. But what was a Mazoku? And what could that possibly have to do with her powers? Another thing she couldn't understand was why her father was talking about that stuff with Bob and Oji-san.

"_It all depends on how old she is when she asks. If you think she's ready to know the truth then tell her, and if she isn't then just feign ignorance. Even so, I believe it would be best if you told her the truth at some stage. It is her right to know about her own blood. But the time to tell her is up to you. If you wait till she moves out she'll probably never listen to you. Remember that Takashi."_

Had Bob always been so serious when she met him later on? She couldn't think of any other time when she had seen him act in quite the same manner; in fact he had almost become less and less serious every time she saw him. But putting that all aside, she couldn't believe what they were saying. When she figured out where the hell she was and found a phone she was going to ring her father and give him a good interrogation about all this.

Leaning back against one of the many trees that lined one edge of the field she was settling in to watch the rest of the memory when she heard other voices, muffled ones. Strangely they drew her attention away from the memory replay session and she subconsciously decided to follow them, turning to head into the trees. She didn't get very far. After only a few steps the world around her went blank and the voices became much clearer. She couldn't understand a single word that was being said!

* * *

Her eyelids were heavy and she had to force them open. It took a lot more effort than she had expected. What she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling and for a moment she thought she had been kidnapped before she remembered that she was in some weird place with the man Conrad and the odd maid Doria.

"But seriously," she muttered quietly to herself "what the heck is a mazoku?" The voices suddenly stopped and she heard footsteps. Perhaps they had been waiting for her to wake up? She did feel sort of groggy and her head was sore.

"I'm glad that you're finally awake. Gisela was getting worried since she couldn't figure out why you were still unconscious after such a long time." Blinking she turned her head to see Conrad standing beside her.

"I was watching some old memories." The truth just seemed to spill from her lips. There was no way she would ever normally tell people about that sort of thing. "It was about my father, Bob and Uncle Shoma. But there conversation was annoying me so I went for a walk and ended up back here."

"Just before, you said the word 'mazoku'. Where did you hear that?" He questioned. It wasn't a demand, it sounded more like curiosity.

"In the memory. Dad was talking to Bob, asking if he should tell me something or not. I don't really understand what he was talking about though, so apparently he's decided I'm still not old enough to hear it." As soon as it left her mouth she realized what is meant and she felt a sense of bitterness towards her father. "Hey, Conrad, where am I?"

"The infirmary." She scowled up at him, not sure if he was evading the question or just being silly.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"You're in Shin Makoku, more specifically, Covenant Castle. Does that answer your question?" She stared blankly up at him, noting the complete seriousness of the way he had said it and the truthfulness in his expression. Sighing she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"Not really, but I suppose that I'll just have to take your word for it." The slightly disorientated girl remembered another supposedly forgotten piece of her life. Conrad seemed an awful lot like the man Jennifer had been telling her about last time she saw her on a school trip to Japan. Curious, she decided to ask the man before her a question.

"Conrad, what does Yuri mean?" He gave her an odd look before replying.

"Yuri would be the equivalent to the month of April." She let out a triumphant "Aha!" before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed so that she was facing him properly. He continued to observe her with slightly confused brown eyes and she suddenly felt superior, knowing something that he didn't, at least not yet.

"That's interesting. Do you want to know why? Because Auntie Jennifer told me a while ago that she met an interesting man who said the same thing to her in Boston." She smirked as she watched him process what she had just said. It was entertaining, teasing this man she knew nothing about. The confusion of being in an unknown place lessened because at least there was one person she could talk to.

"…"

"Aw, you're no fun." She brought her knees to her chest and rested her arms on top of them, her expression darkening. "I'm pretty sure that you know things that I don't, like what mazoku means, but I'm not going to ask you about it. When I get back home I'll ask my father about it, and if he won't tell me then I'll ask Uncle Shoma, and if by then they still don't want to tell me then I'll ask Bob. I'd like to believe that he would be straight with me if my own family won't."

"You're surprisingly stubborn and open-minded." Conrad commented, making her look up at him in confusion.

"How so?"

"You wound up in a place you don't know and you don't know how, but you're completely calm. That's how I know you're open minded. The fact that you can make a decision like that even with answers standing right in front of you means that you're bound to be stubborn."

"Are you profiling me Conrad?" She slid off the bed and smoothed out the red dress, scowling at it. She really hated dresses. "Never mind that. Do you know if my clothes are dry yet?"

"Gisela put them somewhere, I'll have to go and ask. Will you be alright on your own for a while?"

"Don't worry I'll be fine. It's not like a massive crowd of people is going to burst in to the infirmary the second you leave, right?" He had to agree with that, so he left the room in search of the healer, hoping that she hadn't just cursed herself into an unpleasant situation.

* * *

Murata was getting bored sitting in the tomb of the great one with the same people over and over. There was never anyone new for him to talk to, so he had headed to Covenant Castle for a change of pace. What he hadn't expected when he got there were rumors floating around about a strange foreigner in the infirmary. It was just the sort of thing he needed for a distraction.

Conrad had just left the infirmary when he got there, so he opened the door and walked straight in, startling the girl sitting on one of the beds. She stared at him for a moment before turning her face up to the ceiling and muttering "Please tell me I didn't just jinx myself" in English.

"So they really weren't kidding when they said foreigner." He commented in the same language, shocking her even more. She jumped off the bed and walked over to him, poking his cheek.

"Hey, I'm not dreaming. This guy really is speaking a language I understand." She smiled at him, her gaze cautious since he was still a complete stranger. "I'm Amelia, Amelia Nightray. If you'll excuse my saying so I wouldn't have thought that anyone here would speak English. I was shocked enough to find out the Conrad spoke Japanese. I've never been happier to have Japanese cousins."

"Well I'm not exactly typical for this place. If it's Japanese I can think of one other person in the castle who you could talk with. You can't really be with Conrad all the time and I'll have to go back to the tomb eventually otherwise Ulrike will get mad at me." Her eyes lit up in happiness at his statement, knowing that there was _someone_ she could talk to, someone hopefully closer to her own age such as the boy before her.

"You're odd, has anyone ever told you that? So, who's this other person?" Amelia was torn between going straight to find this other person and waiting for Conrad so she could change, so a compromise for now was finding out who they were.

"That would be the Maoh, Yuri Shibuya." Since she was new to the castle he wasn't expecting any sort of reaction, but he was dead wrong. The colour drained from her face at his words and her hands started shaking.

"You're kidding, right?" She asked nervously as she stared into his black eyes.

"No, why?"

"Shit…" She bit her thumb nail, her expression troubled. She was only seconds away from running off to look for Yuri when the door opened again, revealing Conrad with a small pile of clothes.

"Perfect timing!" She cried, taking the pile from him and ushering the two from the room. "Don't let anyone in until I come out." She instructed before shutting the door. Her shoes hadn't been included in the pile so she could only assume that they were still wet. With some difficulty she climbed out of the ill-fitting dress and quickly put her own clothes back on. They were the only normal thing she had left.

Once she was outfitted in her white Green Day t-shirt and her black shorts once more she breathed a sigh of relief. That relief was short lived though since the guy with glasses had just told her that her cousin was in the castle too. Sure she hadn't talked to either Yuri or Shori in a while, but what could possibly have brought her cousin to such a strange place?

"Hey, what's your name?" She asked as she pushed open the door, revealing her in all her barefoot glory. His expression was hard to read, and she found herself thinking that if he were stronger he would make a much better soldier than Conrad.

"Murata." She held her hand up to prevent Conrad from talking.

"Alright then Murata, take me to see him." Surprisingly Murata didn't even question her; he simply nodded and started off walking down the hallway, gesturing at her to follow him. She could tell Conrad was dying to ask what was going on, but instead he followed the teenagers. They walked through a small maze of corridors, passing the occasional room that had guards posted outside. Amelia found part of her mind drifting, wondering what could be so important in those rooms that they needed to be guarded in the first place.

When they reached their destination she actually walked straight past it, not expecting Murata to stop in front of such an unimportant looking door. He knocked once, probably just to be polite, before he pushed open the door and stepped inside, motioning once more for her to follow him. It was only as she entered the room that she realised how cold her feet were, there not being any carpet anywhere she had been so far.

"You have a visitor Shibuya." The teen then stepped to the side to let Amelia come further into the room.

"Your excellency, I must protest." Conrad began, a disapproving look seeping into his usually pleasant expression as he glanced over at her. She met his gaze with a questioning one of her own, not sure what banter was being thrown back and forth between the two. Being ignorant of the language was proving to be a serious handicap.

"It's fine Conrad, I was going to take a break soon anyway." The person at the desk reassured the tall brown haired man. Amelia stiffened. While the language coming from his mouth distorted his accent she would know that voice anywhere. She stared anxiously as he walked around from behind his desk. It took a moment, but by the time he was standing in front of her something had clicked inside his brain.

"Yuri…" His onyx eyes widened in surprise and he placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Amelia… How did you get here?" He asked in Japanese, completely at a loss. There was no logical explanation. It had been weird enough for him when Murata ended up coming with him, but now his cousin was here too.

"Your majesty do you know this girl?" Conrad asked, his confusion obvious. Murata had a slight smirk on his face, as though he knew something no-one else did.

"Yeah, she's my cousin." Turning his attention away from his protector he tried getting answers from the girl. "Did Shori send you here or something?" Her eyes gave off the impression that she was somewhere far away and her lips formed a tight line.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but Maoh means demon king, doesn't it?"

"Y-yeah. Why are you asking?" Murata stepped forward and placed a hand on Yuri's shoulder, shaking his head.

"Shibuya, she doesn't know a single thing. Her arrival here was purely accidental, at least in the sense that no-one sent her here. As to who opened the portal, well, I'll have to ask Ulrike about that later."

"Portal? Demon king? Mazoku?" Amelia muttered angrily under her breath, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Father and Shori will have some explaining to do when I get back." Her black hair began to float around her head on a non-existent breeze. Yuri took a step back, staring at her in awe and confusion as the wind became more prominent, whipping her hair in every direction, slapping it against her face and ripping it away again in the same second. The hem of her t-shirt shifted from side to side, getting batted from multiple directions at once as a whirlwind took form around her.

"Well this is different." Murata commented calmly as she screamed in frustration, her eyes trained on the ceiling of the office.

"To think that she actually had enough power for it to go berserk like this…" Conrad could hardly believe what he was seeing. Blood ties to Yuri wouldn't have resulted in such strong magic, since his powers mostly came from his soul. He was beginning to doubt that she was just a simple human girl.

"What's happening?" Yuri had backed up till he was against his desk, suddenly frightened of is cousin who was one of his closer friends. After he talked with his parents and Shori it had never once crossed his mind that perhaps more of his family was mazoku.

"I'll deal with it." Murata told them, the light glinting off his glasses giving him a sinister look, as though he were plotting something. Still, neither of them knew how to calm her down, so they had to put their trust in him.

* * *

The only thing going through Amelia's head was anger and frustration at her father, at her uncle, at everyone who could possibly have known and didn't tell her anything. She was fuming about the information that had been hidden from her for seventeen years. Even with the turmoil raging in her mind she could still she perfectly clearly. Her gaze was mostly focused on the wind circling her in such a possessive way, so she barely registered it when Murata approached her. The small part of her that did notice figured he would be put off by the raging wind and he wouldn't come any closer.

What she didn't expect was for him to completely disregard her whirlwind and step into her personal space. She stared into his dark eyes as she attempted to collect herself enough to yell at him, but before she had the chance to even react to his space invasion he cupped her cheek in his hand and leaned forward, pushing his lips against hers in an unprecedented kiss. The wind disappeared in an instant as her green eyes widened in shock at the action. Although she would never admit it to anyone, that was her first kiss. The fact that it was arrogantly stolen from her by some guy she didn't know froze her insides, extinguishing the flames of anger at her father. When he pulled away she glared at him and slapped him hard with her right hand.

"What the hell? You arrogant prick!" Her voice was laced with venom as she glared red hot daggers at the smirking teen who stared back at her.

"Your excellency, that was hardly the best method." She nodded furiously while Yuri looked as if he might faint at any moment.

"I agree Conrad, this pervert definitely has ulterior motives." Folding her arms across her chest she clenched her shirt in her hands to prevent herself hitting him again.

"You… you shouldn't have done that." Yuri spoke up finally, having had a similar mishap with slapping people.

"I know I know, I shouldn't be beating up your friend, but he deserved that slap." In a normal situation there would be no need to justify her actions, but there were things in Shin Makoku of which she had no knowledge that were working behind the scenes to ruin her life.

"No, that's not w-mph." Yuri's sentence was cut off as Murata clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Your excellency, please unhand his majesty at once." Conrad ordered, taking a step forward. Murata sighed and let go of the teen.

"Wait, 'your excellency'? Please tell me I didn't just slap an important person!" She cried out, slightly horrified that someone in an important position would do that sort of thing. Conrad stared at her in confusion before staring pointedly at the bespectacled teen. He hadn't been speaking in Japanese, so how had she known what he said?

"What did you do to her?" Conrad demanded, finally deciding to be suspicious about something.

"Relax, I merely gave her a parting gift, seeing as we're going to send her back now." The anger drained from her face at his words.

"Really? I can go back? Daniel's probably freaking out, they won't have a clue where I am…" Her eyes developed an absent look as she worried about her little brother.

"Don't worry, you've only been gone for a few minutes max, I swear."

"That's impossible." She snapped at the sage. "I was unconscious for…"

"Almost five hours." Conrad informed her. "That's why Gisela was worried, because you weren't waking up."

"See? I think there are a few screws loose in your head." Murata just shook his head, a small smirk still plastered on his face.

"You'll find out when you get back." He assured her, grabbing her hand and dragging her from the room. She protested immensely at the physical contact, but he didn't let go, so she eventually fell silent. Yuri chased after them so Conrad was also obliged to follow them through the castle. When they caught up to the pair Murata was trying to get Amelia to stand in the fountain, while she refuted every word he said.

"I am not getting back in there! I almost froze to death the first time, are you _trying_ to kill me?"

"Calm down. You arrived here through water, correct? Well water is how you get back." Even though he was being completely serious she just didn't have it in her to believe the words coming from his mouth.

"Murata, what are you doing?"

"Yuri your friend's trying to make me sick!" She complained, turning to her cousin for assistance.

"Shibuya you of all people should know I'm telling the truth." The Maoh couldn't help agreeing with his friend. It was a truth that he had come to know quite well, and it was also a highly inconvenient truth, Water was really too vague a rule…

"Jeez, fine then. I'll prove to you people once and for all that this is all just a load of crap. The fountain isn't going to send me home." She climbed reluctantly onto the rim of the fountain, staring down at the freezing water. Since it only came to her knees she wouldn't get her clothes wet again by merely standing, but her feet would definitely be worse for wear. Taking a deep breath she stepped hesitantly into the water, letting slip a small noise of discomfort as she waded a short distance away from the rim, teeth chattering. The three spectators stared at her and she stared straight back, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm herself up.

"See?" She struck a triumphant pose, making a victory sign in the middle of the fountain.

"Huh…" Murata was about to give up and let her get out when Amelia suddenly cried out in fear. The water around her feet began to swirl and she felt something tugging on her.

"This isn't funny!" She yelled, trying and failing to move from where she stood. The water was pulling at her and she was quickly soaked up to her waist. Fear enveloped her as she continued to sink and she shouted "I hate you Murata!" just before she disappeared.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, that was chapter 2. She slapped him! Murata knows something they don't. How? What is it? Why are all the Shibuya prone to slapping people? If you're wondering, which I know you aren't, her full name is Amelia Yukiko Shibuya Nightray. She chose to use her mother's last name Nightray. Yay for useless information!  
Soo... I'm not sure what happens after this... I'll just have to think harder! :P**

**Thanks for reading :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey, long time no see, and yes, I KNOW it's been pretty much ages since I last really updated anything, but I'm on a bit of a hiatus right now trying to rewrite one of my fan fictions and also working on an original story every now and again. But after a week of reading Drarry fiction I decided hey, maybe I should take a stab at finishing that chapter I started oh so very long ago. And here I am :P**

**Chapter 3: Surviving Trans-Dimensional Transportation**

Yuri stared blankly at the fountain where his cousin had been only moments before. Seeing her inside Covenant Castle had been one thing, but seeing her disappear like that was on a whole other level of shock. It wasn't until Conrad started trying to convince him to go back to the office to continue signing papers that he remembered the other incident.

"Hey Murata," the double black Maoh started hesitantly, "since you guys are both human, that slap was just a regular slap, right?" The sage couldn't help the all-knowing smirk that painted his face. If Amelia was still there she would have called it arrogant.

"Is that how it seems to you Shibuya?" His tone was light, questioning but not suggesting the other was wrong in any way, but Conrad saw it differently. It had been a complete coincidence, Murata meeting Amelia, yet it seemed as though he were scheming something. It would come to no surprise to the soldier if he saw the girl wandering the castle grounds a few weeks from then, shouting obscenities and breaking things with her magic. He would have to politely bow out and leave her in the hands of other castle dwellers, which could inevitably lead to her being forced to interact with the sage again even though it was plain that she no longer had any intention of trying to be friendly towards him.

"Yuri, I think you should go back to the office now. If Gwendal stops by he'll be furious if you aren't there." Conrad placed a hand on the teen's shoulder and began steering him back into the castle hallways, sending one short conflicted look back at Murata's lonely figure as the sage stared at the fountain.

When Amelia's consciousness returned to her she could hear voices all around, speaking and shouting in her beloved first language, one that didn't make her head spin. The next thing she noticed was an ever-changing weight on her chest, similar in ways to when her cat would walk across her stomach yet at the same time completely different. It was unpleasant, not to mention she didn't like the thought of someone touching her chest while she was passed out. She forced her eyes open a fraction, but the harsh light shining down on her quickly had her scrunching them shut once more. Instead she cleared her throat in irritation and lifted one of her soaking wet arms from where she was lying and attempted to push against whoever was touching her, not that she could see where they were. The pressure vanished completely and a single voice, the voice nearest to her, showed shock. Ignoring them she rolled onto her stomach, hoping to find a reprieve from the bright lights.

"Uergh… This is just not my day." Laid spread out on her stomach it was hard to tell whether the floor was damp or it was just her clothes. Taking the time to just breathe for a while she slowly cracked her eyes open again, more cautiously this time as her eyes had already paid the price once.

"Miss, are you sure you're alright? We can call an ambulance if you need one." It was that voice again, the shocked one from before. Sighing wearily she pushed herself up on shaking arms, managing to settle into a sitting position. Pushing her dripping hair out of her face she squinted slightly, green eyes irritated by the chlorine in the pool.

"Don't be stupid," she muttered disapprovingly, once more scanning the crowds for her little brother, "I'm fine. Don't waste your breath calling anyone."

"Nee-chan!" Her head spun in the direction of the voice and she let out a sigh of relief as she saw Daniel walking towards her. Now that she knew where he was she could deal with the guy who was convinced she was about to drop dead.

"I'm so glad you're alright." He rambled, shocking her as she turned to face him. "Today's my first shift and I didn't know what I was going to do if someone died on my watch. I don't think I'd ever have been able to forgive myself." Amelia wasn't sure what to say. Shuffling over to the young lifeguard she awkwardly patted him on the back, trying to calm him down. His breakdown was causing more of a scene than her unnecessary – in her mind – resuscitation. She wasn't particularly adept at comforting people, so she forced herself to remain silent, opting instead to glare at the spectators until they went back to minding their own business.

"Sis, are you okay, what happened?" Daniel's voice questioned from beside her, his small hand coming down to rest lightly on her shoulder as she leaned over the lifeguard.

"I'm fine Dan, just…" Glancing over at him she snapped her fingers, drying him off the best she could without drawing any attention. "Just go get changed, yeah?" He nodded furiously before rushing off towards where he had left his stuff, slowing to a quick march when an older lifeguard yelled at him for running near the pool.

A chocked sob drew her attention back to her 'saviour' and she rested a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look at her.

"Hey. Bad things happen all the time. It was simply a coincidence that something happened on your first day, in fact it was probably a good thing, making sure that you know what you're getting yourself into by becoming a lifeguard. Sure, things are less likely to go wrong at a swimming pool than the beach, but you just have to remember that things happen and stay strong." The lifeguard wasn't the only one shocked by her speech – she startled herself! Coughing awkwardly to break the tension she climbed to her feet, giving the young man one last pat on the back before turning away.

Her goal now? To get out of the pool and find somewhere private to dry off without being harassed by anyone else.

Drying off was simple enough. Amelia simply slipped into an unoccupied changing room – more private than the bathroom – and set her magic to the job. It took time though, and during that time she eventually noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes. It was that fact alone that convinced her that perhaps all that stuff really did just happen – when she woke up she had been half expecting it all to have been a weird dream caused by a concussion.

Ten minutes later, having ensured that she was as dry as she could manage with her powers, the commotion had died down and she had no problems getting to the lobby where she found Daniel already waiting for her, not knowing where the car was parked. Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but as she approached she could literally see the question die on his tongue and he shook his head slightly under her questioning gaze. Whatever question he had had obviously answered itself.

"Well, I'm completely wiped." She commented as she led Daniel through the carpark. He sent her an odd look and she shrugged in response. "What? I am. I think I'll crash for a while once we get home. It's a good thing I'm not driving today."

"Whatever you say sis." He muttered, eyes on the pavement in front of him.

"Say, do you know if mum or dad has heard anything from Shori or Auntie Jennifer recently?" Amelia asked suddenly, staring inquisitively at her younger sibling. The young boy shook his head once more and made a break for the car which could finally be seen from where they were. She sighed and followed him at a more leisurely pace, picking her steps with care. Students could get drunk just about anywhere and she didn't fancy cutting her feet open on shattered beer bottles.

It wasn't until she was safely seated in the car that she actually took the time to dwell on what had happened. When it finally, truly sunk in that her cousin's pesky friend had so arrogantly claimed a kiss from her the atmosphere inside the small car became decidedly tense, an angry breeze flitting anxiously around the interior. Daniel rolled his eyes, having grown up with the antics of his older sister's temper, and turned to look out the window. She curled her toes and crossed her legs in the tight confines of her seat, crossing her arms across her chest and biting her lip irritably.

"Is everything alright over there?" Takashi asked, laughing nervously at the careless display of power. As she grew older her control certainly grew better, but make her angry and everything was lost.

"I am going to kill that damn Murata…" Amelia murmured, biting her thumb and ignoring her father's concern in favour of wondering how on earth she was going to get back there in order to beat the crap out of Murata.

"Amelia?" When she didn't respond he chanced a glance in her direction, slightly startled by the animosity in her expression.

"Father," she started quietly, forcibly relaxing her hands and bringing them down to rest in her lap as she struggled to shift her thoughts away from first-degree murder, "what exactly is a mazoku?" When the m word slipped out the car swerved dangerously into the next lane – luckily there was no traffic going the other way. After frantically correcting their course Takashi decided to keep his eyes firmly on the road at all times.

"Where on earth did you hear that word from?" He asked lightly, trying to keep the confusion and concern from showing through in his tone. She made an effort to purposely turn and face him, sending him an incredulous look that simply screamed 'you already know the answer to that'.

"You and Bob and Shoma-oji-san."

"Really?" Daniel had suddenly decided to take an interest in the conversation and was watching their exchange intently from the back seat.

"Yeah. Apparently it has something to do with my powers, although I can't for the life of me fathom why."

"What has you asking about all this now?" Takashi questioned, wondering how exactly he was going to go about answering her inquiries. When she remained silent he breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that she wasn't going to press the issue anymore, but his relief was short-lived.

"I was talking to Conrad and I remembered some… things," Amelia stretched the last word out, emphasising each sound as she stared out the window.

"Amelia, who is Conrad?"

Ignoring him, she continued on. "Things that the three of you spoke of one day when I was younger and the family was all together. You were discussing my powers with Bob and Oji-san, and you started talking about Mazoku." Takashi's grip on the steering wheel tightened and he glanced at Daniel through the rear-view mirror.

"Now isn't really the best time to talk about that…"

"Oh don't be such a baby old man, now is as good a time as any, or perhaps you'd rather have this conversation away from prying ears?" She gestured loosely in the direction of her younger brother, her tone of voice a clear indicator of the fact that she was deeply entrenched in her teenage rebellious phase.

"Can this at least wait until we get home?" If he was going to have that conversation he would much prefer it if he wasn't driving. They were only a block or two away from their house as it was. As she confirmed that fact for herself her shoulders slumped, all the pent up rage rushing out of her posture at once. She knew that she was being unfairly harsh – it wasn't him she was angry at, after all – and it was presumptuous of her to expect him to give her a straight answer without any sort of explanation from her side first. Even so, the situation annoyed her.

Once they had made it inside the house Amelia had managed to calm down even further. It no longer seemed like such an urgent question. Instead, her priority changed to having a shower in order to get all the chlorine out of her hair. She always had hated going to the pool.

Downstairs Takashi was having a secretive conversation with his wife, Lillian.

"I don't know how she found out, but Amelia started asking about the Mazoku on the way here. What am I supposed to tell her?" He fretted as he paced backwards and forwards across the tiled kitchen floor. Most explanations about life were delivered by Lillian, since she was better at that sort of thing than he was.

"Just tell her the truth, no harm can come from it," Lillian had to supress a small grin as she watched her husband freak out, normally he was so much more composed. Suddenly he stopped pacing, a thoughtful look overcoming the distress etched into his features.

"Hey, doesn't Yuri have a friend called Murata?" He asked, shocking her with its apparent lack of relevance to the subject at hand.

"Yes, I believe he does. Why?" She asked curiously, keeping one eye on him as she continued dinner preparations.

"Because I believe he's done something that greatly angered Amelia." Lillian's light green eyes widened in shock.

"How is that even possible? They've never met before in their lives!"

"Something strange is going on here…"


End file.
